I'll Walk Right Beside You
by usernamesarecool
Summary: Smosh: Ian/Anthony. Ian's wedding is called off at the last second, which gives Anthony an idea.


Anthony heard the front door slam. A few seconds later Ian walked into the living room, a look of shocked anger on his normally smiling face.

"What's wrong?" Anthony asked, standing up immediately. "Aren't you supposed to be looking at cakes or something?"

Ian shook his head. When he spoke, his voice was emotionless. "Melanie called off the wedding."

Anthony's jaw dropped open. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"Same thing as always," Ian said, laughing bitterly. "She told me that it's 'time to put that whole Smosh thing behind me'. I told her no. She said she'd call the wedding off if I wouldn't quit. I told her that Smosh always comes first. She dumped me."

"Oh my God, dude," Anthony replied, pulling him into a hug. He could feel Ian trembling, and he held him tighter.

"I was gonna get _married_," Ian said, and he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "The wedding was supposed to be in two fucking weeks! Everything's bought already, and I can't get a refund. I'm wasting thousands of dollars on a wedding that isn't even going to happen." His voice broke, and Anthony felt tears begin to moisten his shirt where Ian's face was pressed into it.

"I'm so sorry, man," Anthony whispered, rubbing Ian's back as he sobbed.

"I just want to get married," Ian choked out through his tears. "I'm twenty-eight years old, for fuck's sake. I… I thought I'd find the right person by now, but no girl wants to marry me because of my fucking job. It's not fair."

Anthony pulled away, meeting Ian's watering eyes.

"What if you married someone who was okay with you putting Smosh first?" he asked softly.

Ian wiped the tears from his eyes, sighing. "Who wouldn't mind that?"

Anthony swallowed nervously. This was something he'd been thinking about a lot since his breakup with Kalel last year. His mouth went dry. "Uh…"

"See? You can't even think of an answer." Ian sighed moodily. "No one would be okay with that."

Anthony took a chance. It was now or never. "I would."

Ian stared at him. "What?"

Anthony forced his voice to remain steady. "If you want to get married so bad, then… then marry me."

"Anthony… That's crazy." But Ian didn't look quite as surprised as he should have.

"Remember when we were eighteen, and we made that promise?" Anthony urged.

Ian nodded. "'If we're still single when we turn thirty, we'll get married,'" he recited softly. "But Anthony, that was… that was ten years ago, for fuck's sake. And we're not even thirty yet. We've still got two years to go."

"That's not the point," Anthony said. He took Ian's hand, and was happy to see that he didn't pull away. "When we used to…" he struggled to find the words. "When we used to experiment with each other in high school, you told me that you loved me. I loved you too. But remember how we decided that having a relationship might mess things up for Smosh?"

"I remember," Ian whispered.

"Well, what if us having a relationship ends up _saving_ Smosh?" Anthony asked. "I understand this stuff more than any wife ever could, Ian. I won't sit there complaining that you're too busy editing to come to bed; I'll be right there beside you, helping you until we both fall asleep at the computer. I won't roll my eyes and tell you that your script ideas are immature; I'll help you come up with them and probably suggest that we add even more penis jokes. I won't whine about the crates of fanmail piling up around the house; I'll help you open it and love every minute of it." He stepped closer, trying to read some sort of emotion in Ian's blank stare. "Let's get married, dude."

Ian shook his head, focused his eyes. A slight smile appeared on his face. "Okay," he said. The smile became a grin. "Okay, let's do it! I'll marry you."

Anthony felt his face split into a wide smile. He hugged Ian tight, and he felt sixteen years of friendship passing between them, along with ten years of wishing for something more.

"Ian," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, Anthony," Ian replied, and he turned his head just enough to catch Anthony's lips in a tender kiss. Ian's lips felt so perfect, so _right_. Anthony's mind was filled with memories of long-gone days spent in his room back at his parents' house, curled under the blankets of his bed with Ian, lips moving together in perfect rhythm, hands exploring each other's bodies with a nervous amazement. He remembered the first time they'd touched each other, gasping and shaking at the sensation. He remembered the promise they'd made, right after they'd posted their first video, that they'd get married when they were 30. He remembered the night Ian had taken his virginity, remembered how Ian had whispered "I love you," as he came inside him, remembered how he'd been too scared to say anything back. He'd felt it with every fiber of his being, but he was too afraid of losing their friendship, of losing Smosh. So instead he'd said, "I don't think we should do this anymore."

"I'm sorry," he whispered aloud.

Ian broke the kiss to look up at him. "Sorry for what?"

Anthony shook his head. "For before. When we were teenagers. When I didn't –"

Ian shushed him. "I don't care about that now, Ant. We're getting married, for fuck's sake." His smile returned. "We're getting married," he whispered, and he kissed Anthony again. Anthony pulled him in, a warmth like sunlight spreading through his body. He never wanted to let go.

Suddenly Ian grabbed his belt loops and tugged his hips forward. "I know the wedding's not for two more weeks," he murmured, "but how about you show your love for me in another way right now?"

Anthony grinned. "That sounds like a great idea," he said. Using all his strength, he picked Ian up off the floor and threw him down on the couch, climbing on top of him. Ian's smile was radiant.

This time, when they came together, Anthony didn't hold back.

"I love you," he said at they lay together afterwards, both of their bodies trembling.

"I love you too," Ian replied. He pressed his lips to Anthony's, a slow, gentle kiss. It felt like heaven. Anthony hugged Ian closer, and soon the warmth of his body lulled him into a peaceful sleep.

-x-

Anthony heard the front door slam. A few seconds later Ian walked into the living room, grinning excitedly.

"Just mailed the invitations," he said. "Hopefully people have enough time to prepare."

Anthony smirked. "It's a backyard barbeque wedding, Ian. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Ian dropped down onto the couch beside him, kissing him softly. "How do you think people will react?" he asked nervously.

Anthony pulled him close. "I don't know," he said softly. "I think my family will be okay with it. A little surprised, maybe, but not upset." He grinned. "And your parents will love having me as a son-in-law."

Ian still looked worried, so Anthony nudged him playfully. "Hey, come on. The people who really care about us will be happy for us. The rest can go fuck themselves."

Ian smiled, reassured. "Come on," he said, pulling Anthony up off the couch. "Let's go to bed."

Anthony stared at him, confused. "It's only 6:30 PM."

Ian smiled, winding his arms around Anthony's waist. "I wasn't talking about sleeping."

Anthony grinned. "_Oh_."

Ian leaned up to whisper into Anthony's ear. "We need to practice for our wedding night, Anthony Padilla-Hecox."

The words sent shivers down Anthony's spine. As he kissed Ian, deeply and passionately, he began mentally counting down the days until Ian would completely and truly be his.


End file.
